update Communications Minister Stephen Conroy has said
that the list of prohibited internet addresses
leaked by an unknown party is not the ACMA blacklist.

Stephen Conroy at the ATUG Awards last week(Credit: Suzanne Tindal/ZDNet.com.au)

"I am aware of reports that a list of URLs has been placed on a
website. This is not the ACMA blacklist," Conroy said in a
statement.

"The published list purports to be current at 6 August 2008 and
apparently contains approximately 2,400 URLs whereas the ACMA
blacklist for the same date contained 1,061 URLs," he said

He admitted the list contained some common URLS, but said that
other URLs on the list had never been the subject of a
complaint or ACMA investigation.

Conroy also took the chance to slam the unknown party
which leaked the list of URLs, saying they could be the target of criminal
prosecution.

"ACMA is investigating this matter and is considering a range
of possible actions it may take including referral to the
Australian Federal Police. Any Australian involved in making this
content publicly available would be at serious risk of criminal
prosecution," Conroy said.

"The leak and publication of prohibited URLs is grossly
irresponsible. It undermines efforts to improve cyber-safety and
create a safe online environment for children."

Conroy said that no one who was interested in cyber-safety would
condone the leaking of the addresses which included URLs relating
to child sexual abuse, rape, incest, bestiality, sexual violence
and detailed instruction in crime.

The real ACMA blacklist had been formed in 2000 and was
currently provided to filtering software vendors, Conroy said.

He also outlined how far ACMA's powers went in regards to
prohibited URLs. "Under current law, ACMA has the power to issue
take-down notices for prohibited URLs hosted in Australia. However,
it has no power to do the same for content hosted overseas," he
said.

Suzanne Tindal cut her teeth at ZDNet.com.au as the site's telecommunications reporter, a role that saw her break some of the biggest stories associated with the National Broadband Network process. She then turned her attention to all matters in government and corporate ICT circles. Now she's taking on the whole gamut as news editor for t...
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